For actor John Stamos and singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson, getting to be a part of a live concert-to-film event based on the iconic movie “Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory” is really a dream come true.

Stamos, famous for his roles on “Full House,” “ER” and “Scream Queens,” grew up in Cypress and saw the 1971 classic starring the late Gene Wilder at a multi-screen cinema in Buena Park when he was 9 years old.

“It was the first movie I ever saw,” Stamos, now 54, recalled during a recent phone interview. “It was back in a time when you could bring your own popcorn into the theater and I made this giant shopping bag of popcorn and when Gene Wilder came on the screen, I never even ate the popcorn. I was like, ‘What is happening here?’ It was just one of those early performances that hit me to the core. That moment when he comes out of the doors and does that somersault … it was the first time I was ever really moved by entertainment like that.”

Now, Stamos will have a chance to play homage to Wilder as he takes on the role of Willy Wonka during the live concert and film celebration at the Hollywood Bowl on Saturday, Nov. 4. The special event is a multi-sensory experience that will include the music from the film performed live-to-screen by multi-instrumental band DeVotchKa and a music ensemble led by conductor Jeff Hoeppner. As the film screens, a cast of diehard Wonka fans will sing the film’s popular cuts including “The Candy Man,” “I Want it Now,” “Cheer Up Charlie,” “Pure Imagination” and more.

Michaelson will play Mrs. Bucket while “Mad About You” and “Spin City” star Richard Kind will play Grandpa Joe. “Breaking Bad” star Giancarlo Esposito will be the Candy Man and “It” and “Stranger Things” lead Finn Wolfhard will play Charlie Bucket. Singer-songwriter Elle King will embody the bratty nature of Veruca Salt and “Weird Al” Yankovic will bring the Oompa Loompas to life.

Weird Al Yankovic will be portraying the Oompa Loompas in the “Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory” live-to-film event at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on Saturday, Nov. 4. (Photo by Richard Fury, Associated Press)

Designer and artist Josh Agle, better known by his nickname, Shag, was commissioned by the producers of the “Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory” live-to-film event at the Hollywood Bowl to create exclusive images for the event happening at the venue on Saturday, Nov. 4. (Artwork courtesy of Shag)

Designer and artist Josh Agle, better known by his nickname, Shag, was commissioned by the producers of the “Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory” live-to-film event at the Hollywood Bowl to create exclusive images for the event happening at the venue on Saturday, Nov. 4. (Artwork courtesy of Shag)

Singer-songwriter Elle King will play Veruca Salt in the “Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory” live-to-film event at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on Saturday, Nov. 4. (Photo by Laura Roberts, Associated Press)

Actor Richard Kind will take on the role of Grandpa Joe for the “Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory” live-to-film event at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on Saturday, Nov. 4. (Photo by Rich Fury, Associated Press)

Designer and artist Josh Agle, better known by his nickname, Shag, was commissioned by the producers of the “Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory” live-to-film event at the Hollywood Bowl to create exclusive images for the event happening at the venue on Saturday, Nov. 4. (Artwork courtesy of Shag)

Actor Giancarlo Esposito will play the Candy Man in the “Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory” live-to-film event at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on Saturday, Nov. 4. (Photo by Rich Fury, Associated Press)

Actor John Stamos will be portraying Willy Wonka in the “Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory” live-to-film event at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on Saturday, Nov. 4. (Photo by Richard Fury, Associated Press)

“It’s a cool, eclectic group of people and I’m almost like, who dropped out if they asked me,” Michaelson said with a laugh. “I’m really happy they asked me.”

The 37-year-old folk and indie-pop singer-songwriter said she’s pretty sure she read the Roald Dahl novel that inspired the feature film first and when she finally saw the movie, it kind of scared her.

“It really intrigued me,” she said. “I loved the music and Gene Wilder was so amazing in it, but yeah it was a little scary and it was this iconic kids, but not kids, movie with an incredible and weird story.”

Michaelson, who wrapped up her Broadway debut in “The Great Comet” earlier in the summer, said that she’s glad she’s able to go back to her theatrical roots and stretch her talents beyond just her own live music performances.

“It’s just so different from being on stage (for music) because you’re embodying another person,” she said of the different hats she now wears. “This is an extension of that and you’re a part of a great story. I love being part of something that’s bigger than me and when I’m just one of the many storytellers of the story. To me, that’s exciting and so different from what I’ve always done.”

While Stamos has been practicing his “Pure Imagination” number, he’s also trying to nail Wilder’s entry somersault.

“It’s a lot harder than it looks,” Stamos said. He also noted that he has probably watched the film now, “at least 1,000 times.”

“Gene Wilder’s performance is just so magical,” he continued. “It’s so layered and, dare I say, dark. You notice things every time you watch it and just when you think you have Willy Wonka figured out, you don’t. I do take it seriously because you have a responsibility to uphold this character and give it the respect it deserves. I think this is the way to do it with the movie, the music and it’s at the Hollywood Bowl.”

Show directors Maximillian and Richard Kraft, said they were impressed with Stamos’ dedication to the performance and they knew he’d make a brilliant Willy Wonka.

“John in particular was the most game person for this,” he said. “For his role of Chef Louis, which wasn’t a big role, he came up with the idea to push the conductor off of the podium and to conduct them with a wooden spoon. He studied Jerry Lewis doing comedic orchestra conducting and that was the moment when I developed my John Stamos man crush. He’s just super into it. We were in choreography rehearsals yesterday and he came up with, I think, about 360 different ideas.”

Maxamillian, who Kraft brought into the fold earlier this year after witnessing the “La La Land” Day aerial dance production he produced off of the side of the Los Angeles City Hall building, said the common thread with the “Willy Wonka” production is that everyone involved is a big fan of the film.

“That’s what’s great about doing this movie is that everyone has a story and it holds such a special place in the hearts of everyone,” he said. “They feel like they have to tell you about their favorite moment in the movie. This film lends itself to so many fantastical things and everyone – from our conductor to our music director and the cast – they’re all loving the process of bringing this thing to life and its been really fun.”

“We felt that it could just explode off of the screen,” Maximillian said. “We have the team working on different segments so we’re doing sort of motion graphic animations that will unfold during each scene and just surprise the heck out of the audience. It’s going to be incredible.” ff to a team of animators. The images will be on display throughout the venue during the film.

Of course, you can’t have a Willy Wonka-themed celebration without candy and the beloved golden tickets. Each patron will get a special ticket, and at one point in the evening the Oompa Loompas will instruct the audience to “scratch and sniff” to experience the Smell-O-Rama portion of the evening. Before the show, the crowd will be treated to a solo violinist Sandy Cameron and 16-year-old pianist Emily Bear, who will perform the Oscar-winning “Tom and Jerry” short “The Cat Concerto” live-to-film. They’ve also invited Bow Wow Wow singer Annabella Lwin to lead the audience in her band’s song, “I Want Candy,” in the finale.

“We’ve now gotten into the junkie mentality (with these shows) and for us to get high off the show it just has to have crazier elements than the one before,” Kraft said. “Now, we’re just painting ourselves into a corner and then figuring out how to do it. There will be head-scratching moments where it will be like, that was either genius or just insanely wrong. I like straddling between the two.”

Kelli Skye Fadroski lives for entertainment. She’s worked at The Orange County Register since 2006 and has covered all things music, stand-up comedy, horror and more. When she’s not out reviewing a concert or interviewing some random famous person, she’s catching up on episodes of “The Walking Dead,” somewhere sampling craft beer, enjoying Taco Tuesday or yelling at the contestants through the TV on “Celebrity Name Game” for not knowing basic pop culture trivia. She’s also a diehard Detroit Lions fan.

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